Distinctly different: Space Food Packaging

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Even those with their workplace in space have to eat. And this food also has to be packaged, and in the process, even meet very different requirements and withstand conditions different to those on earth. Strict guidelines monitor astronauts’ nutrition – and its packaging.

The beginnings of astronauts’ nutrition go back to the 1960s. At that time the search was on for balanced nutrition to withstand the conditions in space. The requirements placed on space travellers’ nutrition are subject to strict guidelines and have to be constantly checked for sufficient nutrients. In weightless conditions people feel less hunger and thirst. The taste of food increasingly weakens the higher you are above sea level: for this reason food has to be more strongly seasoned. On the other hand the nutrition must be almost completely salt-free in order to counter osteoporosis in space. On top of this there are the requirements placed on the packaging: there are no fridges on board, so therefore the nutrition must be processed and packaged in such a way that it can keep for long periods. It must not weigh too much either, because three meals are prescribed per person, per day, whereby the average daily ration is approximately 1.6 kilos per person.

The first form of Space Food was a so-called energy cube: a mixture of proteins, fats, sugar and nuts, which was reduced for bite-size compatibility and freeze-dried in plastic film before it was vacuum packaged. A little later – in already somewhat more complex forms – there was dried food, which was mixed with water in its plastic containers before eating. The beverage for example was sterilized apple sauce from aluminium tubes.

Cheeks of veal in space

Since then both the food in itself as well as packaging have been further developed on a step-by-step basis. At first the tubes were replaced by plastic containers, which the astronauts could eat from also using a knife and fork. Coupled with the advances in packaging technology, the diversity and quality of food also improved. In the 1980s the astronauts could already choose from 200 processed foodstuffs and were even able to eat hot meals.
Today the NASA astronauts can choose their menus from 74 different foods and 20 beverages. Currently the menus are dominated by dishes from America, Russia and Japan. The European Space Agency (ESA) would like to increasingly take account of European taste and in this connection has commissioned German master chef Harald Wohlfahrt, who in close cooperation with the ESA, created a 3-course menu of regional specialities, which meets the requirements in terms of packaging, transportability, durability and taste: potato soup and marjoram, veal cheeks and vegetables in balsamic vinegar sauce and stewed plums in star anise-spice stock – packaged in handy cans.

Pouch technology

On the search for the right beverage packaging the researchers found what they were looking for in Heidelberg, Germany: there the Indag company has been producing free-stand pouches for more than 40 years for the “Capri Sonne” international cult drink. Since 2005 in the “Pouch Systems” business division, the high-performance facilities for manufacturing and filling the pouches have no longer been used exclusively for Capri Sonne, but in the meantime also for manufacturing other products in the food and beverage industry. In a fine-tuning approach the engineers designed a beverage carton for the ESA with a 250-millilitre capacity: “Our product developers have devoted themselves to the project with great enthusiasm. The fact that our free-standing pouches have met the high requirements of the ESA, confirms our capability and efficiency”, says a delighted Carsten Kaisig, Managing Director, Indag and Capri Sonne.

A lightweight approach

The really big strength of the Indag free-standing pouch lies in its lightness. The fact that each bag only weighs 4.05 grams and only has a very low waste volume when empty were decisive factors for the experts from ESA. In addition the pouches provide the beverages and foodstuffs with safe, secure protection and do so combined with the highest hygiene standards. Since 2004 the company has also been producing the “Spouted Pouch” re-sealable drink pack. The task now, among others, was to increase the capacity of this pouch to 250 millilitres and integrate a new seal on the basis of the “Spouted Pouch”. Due to the weightless conditions, an adapter with sealing membrane was required. The packaging specialist was now supported by the injection moulding machine manufacturer Arburg, who on the basis of the connection geometry requirements set by the ESA, and in accordance with the Indag bag’s welding contour, produced the corresponding tools for the adapter and necessary separate sealing membrane. In order to create the exact opening for the fluid canal, the adapter was produced using the insert moulding process. The second component made from an elastic material serves as a membrane for the opening and closing of the adapter.

"Space Pouches" at the ISS

The original component geometry of the adapter was developed by the US government. That is why both approval by NASA as well as research on food-safe compatible materials at the American Food and Drug Administration (FDA) were essential. The first batch of 80 "Space Pouches", filled with two different types of ice tea, was already on board the 20th International Space Station (ISS) mission between May and November. In the meantime, the services of another five chefs from Italy, Belgium, Switzerland and Spain have been acquired for the expansion of the European Space Food menu.